Finding Performance Part In A Junkyard

We got there a bit too late, but this '89 Thunderbird Super Coupe had an Eaton supercharger on it when it came into the yard. These cars are not uncommon in the yards around here-neither are the Pontiacs and Buicks that have a similar blower on a 3.8L Buick V-6. Using one with a carburetor might be tricky, since the air inlet is at the rear of the case, not on top. But, mating one to an injected small-block could be interesting.

Speaking of late Thunderbirds, the independent rear suspension used in all '89-'97 models is used in some popular Cobra replica car packages. Pulling one here would be cheaper than having to buy a whole donor car. We've seen these under a couple of early Mustangs, too, but be warned, they're kinda heavy.

The 351 Windsor is hugely popular with Blue Oval guys these days, whether it's being used to pump up a Fox-era Mustang or a vintage Ford. But Windsor cores can be elusive, particularly because the 351W was rarely, if ever, the standard engine in a passenger car or truck. Fortunately, it remained in production until 1995. One of the later-model uses was in Crown Vic police cars until the body style changed in '92 and the modular V-8 took over. This former cop Vic looks more granny with its light-blue respray, but under the hood is a Windsor topped with Ford's miserable variable venturi carb. That's your clue for spotting the Windsor in later, boxy Vics-the 302 was injected at this point.

Although they're quickly becoming collectible, the late second-gen Trans Ams and their Z28 cousins still frequent the yards, and they make great donors for GM street-machine projects. This is a '76, but the later they are, the better the parts. For example, '79-'81 T/As with the WS-6 package have rear disc brakes that bolt on to other muscle-era GM axles; close-ratio steering (14:1) was another part of the package that can swap to any GM car with a Saginaw steering box. The fat front sway bars also fit '64-'67 A-bodies as well as '77-'96 B-bodies (Caprice). Don't forget to check the rear for an 8.5-inch 10-bolt with Posi-traction.

The most common big-block in any yard we go to has to be the 429/460 Ford, probably one of the most underrated engines in the musclecar realm. We built one in the Feb. '06 issue and easily made 514 hp. Even if you can't find mid-'70s barges like this, 460-powered trucks from the '80s are super plentiful. Build the short-block, swap on some aluminum heads, and you've got 500 hp and 500 lb-ft without even trying.

It pains us to see so many Buick and Olds 455s go to the crusher, but we can't save them all. Every trip to the yard turns up at least one, probably because Buick and Olds both offered a few models that came standard with the behemoth V-8s. This '74 Riviera is among them, as is the Electra, while Olds did the same for 98s and Toronados between '70 and '76.

The pictured '71 Delta 88 had the optional 455 with two-barrel carb. As our feature Buick (July '06) proves, these engines can easily make heavy cars fast.

Of course, the king of cubes was Cadillac, and 500-inch versions of its V-8 are also pretty easy to locate. Early versions were only found in the Eldorado, but later, the 500 was used in all Cadillacs through '76. The '70 version was rated at an axle-twisting 550 lb-ft, and reportedly, with the available aluminum Edelbrock intake, the big Cad weighs a mere 40 pounds more than an iron-headed small-block Chevy.